mannesman



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No ModeL) M. MANNESMANN.

MANUFACTURE OF SEAMLESS TUBES.

No. 361,963. Patented Apr. 26, 18 87.

N. PETERS, Photo-Lilhogmpmr. Walhingtun. D- C- (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shet 2.. M. MANNESMANN.

MANUFACTURE OF SEAMLESS TUBES.

No. 361,963. Patented Apr 26, 1887 wxxmawr. Xmw'w.

1M A. W a; 61w.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet a. M. MANNESMANN.

MANUFACTURE OF SEAMLESS TUBES. No. 361,963. Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

(No Model.) 4 SlheetsSheet 4. M. MANNESMANN.

MANUFACTURE OF SEAMLESS TUBES.

T No. 361,963. Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

UNITED STATES MAX MANNESMANN, OF REMSGHEID, GERMANY.

MANUFACTURE OF SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters SEAMLESS TUBES.

Patent No. 361,963, dated Ap1'i126,1887.

Application filed April 1, 1887. Serial No. 233,248. (No model.) Patented in Belgium August 14, 188$,No. 54,857.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAX MANNEsnL-lnN, of Remscheid, Germany, have invented certain Improvements in the Art of Enlarging Metallic Tubes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of and apparatus for enlarging the sizes of metallic tubes or hollow metallic ingots. The process and the apparatus by which the process is carried out may also be employed in connection with or may be incorporated into the process of and apparatus for transforming solid ingots of metal into tubes by means of diagonally-acting rolls impinging upon different sides of the blanks, which are described and shown in the pending application of Max Mannesmann, serially numbered 227,087.

The enlarging process consists in progress ivelycompressing the shell of the tube upon the surface of a conical or conoidal mandrel, and in simultaneously forcing the'metal to move spirally around the mandrel from the smaller end toward and over the base of the mandrel.

The apparatus for accomplishing these purposes, which is embraced in the invention, consists of a conoidal mandrel having'the desired taper and dimensions, and in combination therewith apair ofdiagonally-acting hemispheroidal rolls, the workingfaces of which diverge from the place where they compress the shell of the tube upon the smaller part of the mandrel to or beyond the place where the greatest enlargement in the size of the tube is effected and where its shell becomes thinnest. I

The tube which is to be enlarged may, if desired, be fed while still hot from the machine in which it is formed into another machine, which enlarges it, or may be reheated preparatory to being enlarged; or a solid metallic blank may be progressively transformed into a tube, and the tube enlarged to the desired extent by means of diagonally-acting rolls having the portions of their workingfaces which first engage the blank convergent for the purpose of developing the tubular formation, and the rest of their faces divergent for the purpose of compressing and drawing the shell of the tubular formation upon and over the surface of the conoidal mandrel interposed midway between them. By this expedient a solid blank may, at one or more heals and by one or more passages through the rolls, be transformed into a tube the shell of which is composed of spirally-overlaid fibers of metal, and which is of greater diameter than the width of the narrowest part of the space between the rolls, or may be even of larger external diameter than the blank.

As diagonal rolling machines are well known, it is deemed sufficient to herein show only those operative parts of the apparatus which in construction and mode of operation are comprehended in'the present invention.

The accompanying drawings embrace representations, first, of the apparatus for enlarging the sizes of tubes; secondly, the tubeenlarging mechanism arranged in close proximity to the diagonally-acting reducing-rolls for transforming a solid blank into a tube, and, thirdly, pairs of hemispheroidal rolls having portions of their working-faces convergent for the purpose of developing the tubular formation in the blank, and having the 'mounted upon the opposed ends of two convergent shafts and arranged at slightly different elevations on opposite sides of a conoidal mandrel, for the purpose of enlarging the size of a tube or hollow blank fed into the narrow end of the space between the working-faces of the rolls. Fig. 2 is a top view of a pair of the tube-enlarging rolls and an interposed conoidal mandrel arranged in immediate proximity to a pair of diagonally-acting reducingrolls impinging upon opposite sides ofa solid blank, showing the development of the tubular formation in the blank and the subsequent enlarging operation. Fig. 3 is a top view of a pair of hemispheroidal rolls mounted upon the opposite ends of two converging shafts and having suitable portions of their working-faces c011- vergent and the remaining portions divergent, showing a conical mandrel interposed between the divergent portions of the working-faces,

and also showing in longitudinal section a solid metallic blank which has been seized by the convergent portions of the working-faces and has commenced its passage between the rolls. Fig. 4 is a similar view representing the blank as having so far progressed between the rolls that there has been formed at its for- .ward end a tubular recess, into which the pointed end of the mandrel projects. Fig. 5 is a similar view upon a larger scale, showing the blank at a further stage of its progress, in which the forward portion'of it has been transformed into. a tube of larger diameter than the original diameter of the blank. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the rolls and blank shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 of the rolls and mandrel, showing the blank so far progressed between the rolls that its rear end has been carried nearly to the point of the mandrel. Fig. 8 is a view of the rolls and mandrel similar to Fig. 5, showing the conclusion of the tube forming and enlarging operation.

A close resemblance exists between the arrangement of the diagonally-acting rolls and mandrel for enlarging the diameter of a hollow ingot or thick-shelled tube and the arrangement of diagonally-aeting rolls and mandrel for progressively transforming a solid blank into atube and then immediately enlarging such tube in size. In all cases there is required to be such proportioning of the dis tance between the working-faces 0f the rolls and the diameter of the blank as will enable the rolls to grip the blank firmly and by their diagonal action thereon,respectively in opposite directions,impart both a rotary and aforward movement to the metal which they displace.

If the blank is hollow or in the form of a tube having a thick shell, and the object of the operation is simply to enlarge the external diameter of the tube and to reduce the thickness of the shell, then there will be required only a comparatively moderate depth of impingement for those portions of the workingi'aces of the rolls which first seize the blank. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, in which, as will be seen, the portions of the hemispheroidal rolls which most nearly approach each other produce in seizing upon the end of the blank a comparatively slight reduction in its diameter.

Hemispheroidal rolls such as those shown in the other figures are designed to effect by their preliminary action a comparatively large reduction in the diameter of the blank for the purpose of developing a tubular formation therein, as illustrated in Fig. 4, according to the method described in the said application of Max Mannesmann, serially numbered 227,087.

The rolls shown in Fig. l are especially intended for the transformation of a thick-shelled tube or hollow blank into a very thin shelled tube of greatly increased external diameter.

The rolls A a are mounted, respectively, upon the opposed ends of the converging shafts B b. The central portion,0, of the workingface of each roll is spherically rounded, and the remaining portion, 0, is conical. The vertical planes of the axes of the rolls A a meet each other and intersect at or near the same point the Vertical plane of the axis of the blank D, and the beveled portions 0 of the two rolls are frusta of cones the apices of which would meetat or near the line of the intersection of the vertical planes of the axes of the rolls.

The roll A rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A, and hence at its line of ill]- pingement upon .the blank actsin an inclined downward and forward direction. The roll a rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow at, and at its line of impingement upon the blank acts in an inclined upward and forward direction. There is thusimparted to the blank D rotation upon its longitudinal axis in the direction indicated by the arrow D, and also an endwise forward movement in the direction indicated by the arrow D By the motion imparted to it the blank is carried forward over the surface of the conical mandrel E, the pointed end 6 of which enters the hole d in the blank.

It will be seen that the angles ofthe workingfaces of the rolls with the axis of the blank are slightly more acute than the angles of the sides of the conical mandrel with its axis, and it hence results that as the tube'is forced forward over the surface of the mandrel its shell d is gradually reduced in thickness.

The tube-enlarging rolls and a mandrel of the type shown in Fig. 1 may be arranged in immediate proximity to tube-forming rolls operating according to the process described in Max Mannesmanns pending application, serially numbered 227,087, as illustrated in Fig. 2, in which, as will be seen, the tubular formation is initiated in a solid blank during its passage through the convergent workingfaces of the rolls Ff, and its path of movement between the rolls Ff is in alignment with its path of movement between the enlarging-rolls A a. Instead, however, of employing one pair of rolls for transforming a solid blank into a tube and another adjoining pair to enlarge such tube, the said processes of transforming and enlarging can be performed by a single pair of rolls of the type illustrated in Fig. 3,

' in which there is shown a solid blank, D, which has been seized by the converging portions of the working-faces of the rolls G g and has already had a recess formed in its forward end by the pinching action of the rolls.

In Fig. 4, as will be seen, the blank D has so far progressed between the convergent portions of the working-faces of the rolls G 9 that its external diameter is considerably reduced and the recess (2, at its forward end, has i11- creased in depth by the rupturing of the metal along the line of the axis of the blank and the outward movement of the metal therefrom, and now the point e of the conical mandrel E has entered the recess d.

As shown in Fig. 5, the tubular portion of the blank is forced forward over and com- IIO of the rolls.

pressed upon the surface of the mandrel E by the continued action upon it of the rolls, and is thereby transformed into a comparatively thin shelled tube.

Rolls of the type shown in Figs. 1 and 5 and the other similar figures are mounted upon converging shaft-s the axes of which are respectively in parallel planes which are equidistant from the axis of the blank, as illustrated in Fig. 6, in which, as in all the figures rep resented in the drawings, it is assumed that two rolls are employed, and that they are respectively arranged upon opposite sides of the path through which the blank travels. In this class of machines, when two rolls are employed, it is usual to provide a support, H, upon which the blank can rest while passing between the rolls, as shown in Fig. 6.

In Fig. 7 the blank is represented as having so far progressed between the rolls that its rear end has been carried nearly to the pointed end of the mandrel. There is still, however, a portion of the rear end. of the blank which has not yet progressed beyond the converging portions of the rolls, and which is yet to be reduced in external diameter by the impingement upon it of the converging working-faces If, however, the hold of the rolls upon the blank is not sufficient to force the rear portion of the-blank forward over the mandrel, then that portion may be out off from the enlarged tubular portion D.

The surface of the mandrel employed may, without departing from the invention, be curved in the direction of the length of the mandrel; and, similarly, the portions of the working-faces of the rolls adjacent to the man drel may be so shaped as to have a more or less curved line of impingement upon the shell of the tube which is in process of being enlarged.

When the operations of developing a tubular formation in a solid blank and of enlarging the size of such tubular formation are performed together duringa single passage of the blank between the rolls, it is important that the twist which is imparted to the portion of the blank operated upon by the convergent working-faces of the rolls shall not be taken out in the following operation, because the tube is greatly strengthened against internal pressure when the fibers are overlaid spirally around the shell. The hemispheroidal rolls afford the means for effectively accomplishing this result. To that end they are so shaped and their axes are adjusted at such an angle relatively to the path of the blank that the vertical planes of the apices of the cones of which the conoidal portion G g of the rolls are frusta intersect each other at or near the line of intersection of the vertical planes of the axes of the rolls, which, as indicated in Fig. 6, are arranged, respectively, in parallel horizontal planes, the one above and the other below the horizontal plane of the axis of the mandrel. For the purpose of this explanation it is assumed, as before, that the two hemispheroidal rolls are arranged, respectively, on

opposite sides of a horizontal mandrel. It will of course be understood that they might be arranged the one over and the other under the mandrel without changing their relations to each other and to the mandrel.

\Vhen one pair of diagonally-acting rolls is employed to develop a tubular formation and a second pair of rolls is employed to enlarge the tubular formation, as lllustrated in Fig. 2, it will of course be seen that the speed of rotation of the second pair of rolls may be increased to any extent which may be necessary or desirable for the purpose of imparting to the portion of the tube which is undergoing the process of enlargement the same or even greater speed of rotation than the speed of rotation imparted to the tubular formation by those portions of the tubeforming rolls which most nearly approach each other and which have the greatest diameter. This expedient of increasing the speed of rotation of the tubeenlarging rolls is of course unavailable where a single pair of rolls is employed for the two purposes, first, of developing the tubular formation, and then of enlarging the tubular formation; hence the importance of this hemispheroidal form, which gives to the rolls the capacity of adjustment in the man ner described, whereby the ratio of increase in diameter of the conoidal or divergent portions G g of the rolls may be made to correspond to the ratio of increase in diameter of the portion of the tube which is undergoing the process of enlargement, as the result of which the enlarging operation is performed without taking out any of the twist which has I been given to the fibers during the operation of developing the tubular formation.

It should be understood that what is herein meant by the term hemispheroidal roll is a roll which is mounted, preferably, upon the end of a shaft, so that its workingface extends across its axis, but is approximately hemispherical in shape, although portions of it may be conical or conoidal, the shape of the working-faces being of such character that when two hemispheroidal rolls are mounted, respectively, upon the adjacent ends of two converging shafts the path through which the blank travels between their working-faces at first gradually diminishes in width as the working-faces approach each other, and then gradually increases in width as the workingfaces of the rolls reoede from each other on either side of the path of the blank.

Hemispheroidal rolls having the characteristics described may be employed instead of diagonally-acting barrel-shaped rolls for all the purposes for which the latter are adapted in the manufacture of metallic tubing.

It will of course be seen that by making the hemispheroidal rolls of very great size each of them might be placed between two bearings. The great increase in size which would thus be rendered necessary would, however, make the rolls inconveniently large, and it is to avoid this inconvenience that the rolls are mounted, respectively, upon the opposed ends of the converging shafts.

The hemispheroidal rolls maybe regarded as beveled rolls having the outer portion of their working faces beveled upon one angle and their interior portions beveled more abruptly. The form of roll shown in the drawiugs, however, in which the central portion is convexly curved, is preferred, and for that reason the term hemispheroidal is adopted as a conventional designation for rolls having the characteristic that their diameterisgreatest at the place where the enlarged tube issues from the apparatus.

\Vhat is claimed as the invention is- 1. The improvement in the art of enlarging the size of a tube or hollow metallic ingot or blank, which consists of progressively compressing and simultaneously drawing the shell of a metallic tube or hollow blank upon and over the surface of aconoidal mandrel by means of diagonally-acting hemispheroidal rolls, the working-faces of which impinge upon different sides of the hollow blank or tube and along portions of their lines of impingement diverge from each, other at an angle which is in a prescribed degree more acute than the angle of the sides of the mandrel with each other, substantially as set forth.

2. In apparatus forenlargingthe sizes of metallic tubes or hollow ingots, or for transforming a solid blank oringotinto a tube and then enlarging said tube, the combination of a conoidal mandrel with diagonally-acting hemispheroidal rolls the opposed portions of the workingfaces of which adjacent to the mandrcl are divergent, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. Diagonally-aeting reducing-rolls proportioned and adjusted for developing a tubular formation in a solid metallic blank or ingot passed endwise between their working-faces, in combination with two diagonally-acting enlarging-rolls arranged on different sides of a conoidal mandrel and having opposed portions of their workingfaces divergent at an angle of prescribed acuteness with the axis of the man drel, as shown and described.

4. In diagonal rolling apparatus, two hemispheroidal rolls, substantially such as described, the opposed portions of the workingfaces of which converge for a prescribed distance and then become divergent, in combina tion with an interposed mandrel, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The improvement in the art of producing and enlarging tubes from solid billets or blanks, which consists in first progressively reducing the diameter of the blank by theimpingement upon itofdiagonally-acting reducing-rollshaving their working-faces or portions thereof convergent, and then, aided by the impingement upon it of diagonally-acting hemispheroidal rolls having their working-faces or portion thereof divergent, pressing it against and Over the surface of a conoida-l mandrel placed between the divergent working-faces of said hemispheroidal rolls, whereby during a single passage between the rolls the blank is made to assume the form of a tube, and such tube is gradually enlarged to a prescribed size, according to the diameter of the mandrel and the angles of divergence of the working-faces of the diagonally-acting hemispheroidal rolls.

6. In diagonal rolling apparatus, thecombination of a mandrel with two hemispheroidal rolls,betwcen which the mandrelisiuterposed, the said rolls being mounted upon converging shafts and having the outer portions of their working-faces in the form or approximately in the form of frusta of cones the apices of which intersect a line which is perpendicular to the axial line of the mandrel, and which is at or near the line of intersection of the planes ofthe axes of the rolls which are perpendicular to the axial line of the mandrel, as and for the purpose set forth.

' MAX MANNESMANN.

Wi tn esses:

A. M. JONES, M. L. ADAMS. 

